A look back, a look ahead

One of the interesting things about being a sportswriter is that folks consider you a “fan” of the teams you cover. The vast majority don’t think like that.

We do root, though.

I root for two things: 1) For my prediction; 2) For good games.

So I was rooting for LSU last night. But I found myself frustrated by another bad BCS bowl game.

Could someone, please, entertain me.

What a lame BCS bowl season. The only close game, Kansas’ 24-21 win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, earns only a “neh” because neither team was elite.

LSU beat Ohio State by 14 (and it wasn’t that close); USC beat Illinois by 32; West Virginia beat Oklahoma by 20; and Georgia beat Hawaii by 31.

Yawn.

Then the final AP rankings come out and Oklahoma, perhaps on the basis of being the bowl season’s biggest flop, is ranked eighth, four spots below a Missouri team the Sooners decisively beat TWICE.

Go figure.

I’ve also got a prediction that won’t warm anyone’s heart outside of the state of Ohio: Tired of Ohio State losing to an SEC team in a championship game? It’s a more than reasonable bet it will happen again next year.

-The Big Ten will be mediocre (I know, breaking news).
-Ohio State started just three seniors against LSU and shouldn’t be hit too hard by NFL defections.
-The Buckeyes also get an early and winnable juice game: At rebuilding USC on Sept. 13.

It all lays out very well for Ohio State, which NationalChamps.net already posted as its preseason No. 1.

My feeling is the winner of the Georgia-Florida game will take the other spot in next year’s title game.

So there you have it: SEC vs. Ohio State (0-9 in bowl games vs. SEC) once again.

Yikes.

—As a Harris Poll voter, I don’t have a post-season vote (Harris Poll is a creation of the BCS). But here’s my final top-10: